Customer Reviews

Radiant Historia

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On its surface Radiant Historia looks like a typical Japanese RPG: the world is in peril, rival kingdoms battle over remaining territory, and you're stuck in the middle of the conflict. Looks can be deceiving though, and this (one of the last RPGs made for the Nintendo DS) has a number of pleasant surprises. There are no random monsters, strategy and planning play a major role in battle, and the story is less linear than it initially appears. Most importantly Radiant Historia deals with the effects of time travel, and that's where things get really interesting.

Early in the game the player is given the White Chronicle, which records all the events in the game as they happen. Soon afterwards it is revealed that you can teleport back and forth in time with bookmarks at major events. With more than 200 nodes and two fairly distinct but intimately connected timelines, the game allows for much more meddling in the time stream than you might expect (much more than in Chrono Trigger).

Radiant Historia is a surprisingly ambitious and original title that takes the whole concept of time travel in video games to new heights. The plot does get a tad convoluted with all the branching paths, and suffers the pitfalls of repetition, but makes up for that with its incredibly detailed and generally well written story. With its combination of sprite-based characters and 3D settings, and a fantastic soundtrack, the overall presentation doesn't disappoint. Uncovering all the secrets should yield a solid 40 hours of game play in what can be considered one of the top-tier RPGs on the Nintendo DS.

PROs:

Incredibly detailed, non-linear story
Excellent graphics and music
Fun, strategic battle system
35+ hours of game play
Came with a bonus soundtrack CD

CONs:

Time travel results in repetition
Branching plot can get convoluted
Some party members don't get much use

I've made a career out of loving sleeper RPG titles, and Radiant Historia is no exception. This game has everything you could want from an RPG: an engaging and thoughtful combat system, a richly-detailed universe with unique and varied characters, a beautiful soundtrack, and a gripping storyline that pulls you back and forth through time as you seek out the one right way the future was meant to be.

One of the best features of Radiant Historia is its multiple endings. I'm not talking about the ending of the game--I'm talking about the endings peppered throughout time, the endings that you stumble upon by making this or that decision as you guide Stocke forward. The game lets you feel that every decision you make has the potential to be the wrong one, no matter how well-intentioned you are, and that leads to an engaging experience difficult to find in other modern RPGs.

Radiant Historia is the only handheld RPG that has driven me to achieve 100% since the original Golden Sun games on GBA. This game is utterly wonderful and if you're even remotely interested in playing it, pick it up now. With it already difficult to find only a year after its release and with no further production plans in place, Radiant Historia is on its way to becoming impossible to find--and you're going to wish you owned it.

This game is just fantastic. The story is very complex and changes based on your actions and reactions to more than 100 situations. Overall this story is about a war between two specific conflicting nations and the story is played out between two different time lines which you have access to. You play as a character able to jump between the two time lines in order to solve the major conflicts in the story and discover, along the way, the secret of your past.

Although the only customization changes to your party of characters (which fluctuates as the story progresses) is through their weapons and armor you can locate scrolls throughout the game which allow you to teach them hidden skills and feel more involved in their development. Battle is initially easy and becomes increasingly strategic, expecting you to optimize your party for each area in order to make it through alive. Often times boss battles require patience but reward you well in the end and characters gain experience regardless of if you placed them in your immediate party.

I found myself unable to put the game down, thinking carefully about the situations which I was stuck in and how to solve them. The ending is worth the game time and if all the side quests are completed it becomes more involved and rewarding. A small counter in the story layout area of the game allows you to keep track of how many events you've discovered and completed throughout the story. If you like rpgs this game is a must. It's well worth the money and time.

This game is a fantastic example of what makes video games as a medium different from films or novels. The time travel mechanism in this game is a part how the story is told and you use it to navigate the plots and subplots of the game, its a great experience that involves the player more directly within the plot as it unfolds.
The battle system is a clever field mechanic that adds a mild strategy element to combat but it is one that can be done quickly and readily on the fly, instead of bogging down the battle experience it kept me involved enough that I can still enjoy the mundane battles.
It is an experience I would recommend to any RPG lover.

this game is fun and has a replay value. it is interesting to see all the endings. it has a small touch of Final fantasy VI and chrono trigger

Radiant Historia is, without a doubt, one of the greatest games that the Nintendo DS has to offer. A fantastically well done music score, characters that even without recorded voices seem to convey their emotions and passions brilliantly, and finally a time travelling concept that is both simple and yet makes you think.

There is a vast multitude of side quests to engage in as well. It'll take you many hours to complete everything this wonderful game has within itself.

If you enjoy RPGs, you'll love Radiant Historia!

This game is amazing it pushes a whole new RPG game style for me as I was always used to the final fantasy type games

Game's great, so far really enjoying it. The combat is interesting and playing well has a benefit (bonus exp/gold). So far the game has started out very simple in mechanics, but complex in story. Not sure where it's going to go, but I absolutely recommend this game.

Engaging story with solid characters so far and solid game mechanics overall. This is a great game for those who want to go back to games like FF3 or Chrono Trigger. My only drawback to date is that it lacks the feel epic of those SNES classic RPGs.